“How soon should I see my bilirubin count normalizing after starting treatment?”
I had abnormal bilirubin counts when I was diagnosed with jaundice. My treatment has started. How soon will the counts start normalizing?
1 Answer
Jaundice is a symptom of elevated bilirubin, typically when >3.0. There are many things that can cause elevated bilirubin which are typically caused by loss of synthetic function of the liver in cases of cirrhosis, lysis of red blood cells typically from autoimmune diseases or obstruction of the biliary tract by gallstones or tumors.
I'm not sure what you were diagnosed with and are currently being treated for. If you have advanced liver failure you may never be able to improve your bilirubin enough to the point where you are no longer jaundiced. Some reversible causes can occur in successful treatment of hepatitis C or liver dysfunction related to ETOH use, but this is case by case and depends on the extent of cirrhosis before treatment. Other issues can improve with immune system modulating medications or surgical correction of underlying cause.
Good luck with everything,
Jack Stephens, MD
I'm not sure what you were diagnosed with and are currently being treated for. If you have advanced liver failure you may never be able to improve your bilirubin enough to the point where you are no longer jaundiced. Some reversible causes can occur in successful treatment of hepatitis C or liver dysfunction related to ETOH use, but this is case by case and depends on the extent of cirrhosis before treatment. Other issues can improve with immune system modulating medications or surgical correction of underlying cause.
Good luck with everything,
Jack Stephens, MD
